In the 18th Century, London grew rapidly, both in terms of territory and population. Its economic situation ensured a foundation for the Industrial Revolution, and the city assumed a central role in the evolving empire.

The Scottish and English Parliaments merged into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. One year later, St Paul’s Cathedral, the masterpiece of architect Christopher Wren, was completed; although the first service in the church had taken place over a decade before.

During the Georgian era, new districts of London, such as Mayfair, developed in the wealthy, lavish West End. The Port of London expanded downstream, and South London began to enjoy an accelerated pace of development as well. London Bridge had been the only bridge over the Thames prior to 1750, the same year Westminster Bridge opened, and Fleet Street was established as the centre of the British press in the same century. King George III bought Buckingham House (Palace) from the duke of Buckingham in 1762. Architects, such as John Nash, enlarged the palace over the next 70 years, which became the main royal residence in the 19th Century. London, though, also developed a crime problem. Heavy sentences were meted out quite frequently, often for minor crimes, such as pickpocketing. Nearly every day witnessed a public hanging, with people flocking to watch and be entertained.

Protestants in London rebelled against Catholic emancipation in 1780, an uprising known as the Gordon Riot, named after its leader Lord George Gordon Byron, better known as one of great poets of the British Romanticist movement. Catholic churches were extensively damaged and 285 rioters were killed. The 18th Century in London was relatively prosperous, but also difficult in some ways. The American colonies broke away, and there were enormous cultural changes as a result of the Enlightenment.